Police Shootings in NM: Investigations, Prosecutions & Solutions

New Mexico in Focus (A Production of NMPBS)

Lou DiVizio opens up the podcast with some headlines from around the state, including news from a federal indictment accusing former Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales and former Laguna Pueblo Police Chief Rudy Mora's of helping to facilitate an illegal gun distribution scheme.

Then, Executive Producer Jeff Proctor hosts an in-depth, two-part conversation about police shootings in New Mexico. According to an analysis by Searchlight New Mexico, police shot 357 people statewide over the last 10 years — more than in any other U.S. state per capita during that period. Executive Producer Jeff Proctor asks a special roundtable why cops shoot so many people in New Mexico and whether failures at other levels of government too often leave life-and-death decision in the hands of the police. In the second part of their discussion, Jeff asks the group why legislators are advocating for the creation of a centralized, independent office to investigate and review police shootings cases. Plus, the roundtable considers what’s at stake for the potential criminal trial of Las Cruces police officer Brad Lunsford, the second cop in the state’s modern history to be charged in an on-duty fatal shooting.

Host: Lou DiVizio

Panel Host: Jeff Proctor

Guests:

Sharon Walton, Retired Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court Judge

Leon Howard, Deputy Director, American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico

Joshua Bowling, Investigative Reporter, Searchlight New Mexico

For More Information:

Hundreds of police killings. Two prosecutions. No jail time. – Searchlight New Mexico

Charges filed against a New Mexico police officer for a fatal shooting — for the first time in nearly 10 years – Searchlight New Mexico

Listening to the Gila - Our Land

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